When holding a Human Shield, pressing the Grab button again Throws the person. A "Shield Kill" can be performed, see Controls for the specific button on each platform.

Civilians, police and gang members can all be used as Human Shields. In Saints Row 2 when grabbing a civilian, police do not shoot at the lowest levels of Notoriety, but at higher they shoot whatever the circumstances. When using a police officer, the same applies but for higher levels they try to negotiate and outflank The Protagonist and only shoot at the highest levels. Gang members only stop shooting if one of their own is used as a Human Shield, however at higher levels of notoriety they shoot regardless. It is not possible to grab Special Homies during missions, and using a Homie as a Human Shield causes them to become hostile.

Human Shields can be used for many reasons. The main reason is to stop the police and gangs from shooting, while freely shooting at them and refill health if it is low. Grabbing a Human Shield and executing them expends only one bullet whereas it normally takes more than one. This can be used to save ammunition, or to stop them attacking. Also, they can be used to throw from heights to get respect for the stunt "Throwing".

In Saints Row: The Third and Saints Row IV, pressing the Human Shield button while running near a NPC makes The Protagonist tackle a NPC and take them as a Human Shield.

The Bloodsucker Pack DLC for Saints Row: The Third replaces normal execution animation with the Dracula Blood Sucking animation and gives the ability to restore player's health after executing Human Shield.